Vehicle-tire.



No. 770,791. PATENTED SEPT. 27, 1904v W. E. ANDREW.

VEHICLE TIRE.

APPLIO llllllll LED MAR. 25. 1903.

JNVENTOR,

Milan/11L E efindrew.

UNITED STATES Patented September 27, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

VEHICLE-TIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 770,791, datedSeptember 2'7, 1904.

Application filed March 25, 1903. Serial No. 149,526. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. ANDREW, a citizen of the United States,residing at Atlantic Highlands, in the county of Monmouth and State ofNew Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomobile and other Vehicle Tires; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be'a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved form of resilienttire or tread member for automobiles, bicycles, and various forms ofvehicles, such as can readily and easily be applied, if desired, to anordinary Wheel by slight alteration.

A further object is to provide a form of tire that will effectuallyresist undue compression in use and which will have the resiliency,durability, and efiect of pneumatic tires without having thedisadvantage of the latter form of tire of inflation and liability topuncture and rupture and then being incapacitated for use.

A further object is to provide means for securing the tire to the fellyor rim of a vehiclewheel in use.

With these objects in view and others my invention comprises theconstruction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, I haveillustrated one form of embodiment of my invention, and in which- Figure1 shows in transverse section one form of tire as secured to the fellyor rim. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form offelly and tire. Fig. 3 shows in section the tire separate. Fig. 4 showsa wheel in broken perspective with my form of tire attached. Figs. 5 and6 show means for assembling the tire. Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 showsections of modifications of my tire, and

Figs. 12 and 13 show the securing-band.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 3 the tire A, composed, preferably, ofsoft rubber, is made of arched form in cross-section and has acircumferential or annular projection a on the inner wall of the arch oneach side. These projections preferably extend to within a shortdistance of each other. Immediately above each projection I form anannular groove cf, the lower wall of which'is flush with the upper wallof the adjacent projection. The felly of an ordinary automobile,carriage, or a bicycle wheel B has the curved tire-rim C, securedthereto. In order to securethe tire A to this rim, 1 provide a band D,made of iron, aluminium, wood, or other sultable material, havlng offsetoverlapping ends that are slotted at and 71:, as shown binds theprojections onto the rim C, and also the band extends into and engagesthe walls of the grooves 60 in the tire A. Where the band engages theupper wall of the grooves, the band forms a support for the tread of thetire by means of the shoulder-bearing. and thereby effectually resistscompression of the tire from the ground and consequent flatteningthereof.

In use the compression on a tire is in a vertical line. Therefore a tirehaving a rounded outer surface when pressure is applied has a tendencyto pull away from the outer top edges of the rim and to centralize thepressure, only a portion of the pressure being against the rim, and thatis applied at an angle, which would have a tendency to cause the rim tocrack or break, and the pressure on the tire, being mostly along oneportion, would be more liable to rupture than if the pressure wereevenly distributed over the entire rim. In my application I haveillustrated a projection A, constructed to extend beyond the edges ofthe rim and under pressure to bear directly on thetop edges thereof, andthus to' evenly distribute the pressure over the entire bearing-faces ofthe rim and tire. The chief objection to a construction of this kind isthat it is liable to chafe and wear, 7 A tire of my construction, beingthickened-at this portion.

and formed of wear-resisting materials, is not liable to theseobjections. These projections are arranged above the plane of theretainingband D, so that when pressure is applied to the outer face ofthe tire and the central portion is compressed the pressure will beuniform over the entire bearing-surfaces of the tire and rim, thusaffording a wide base and lessening the pressure on any one portion ofthe tire or rim, whereby danger of break or rupture is lessened.

In Fig. 2 is shown a metal crescent-shaped felly or rim F. For this formof rim the projections g of the tire G are made convex on therim-engaging side, thereby giving a wedge shape to these projections.

T6 facilitate the assembling of the tire, I provide an assembling-ringH, made crescentform, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. This ring is broken andhas a transverse lug h at each end, that has an aperture if. A bolt [ipasses through these lugs and has a headed nut if. This ring H is putaround the tire, as shown in Fig. 6, and then the head screwed up tobring the lugs together, which will bring the tire down onto the rim.

In the form shown in Fig. 7 the felly K may be of any desired formforinstance, the usual form of felly used on carriages. The flat band-tire76 may be the usual flat wagontire, but is made narrower than the fellyK. The band I1; is fastened to the rim by bolts having the nuts 70 onthe inside of the felly. In the form shown in Fig. 7 the felly K hascut-away portions or grooves in. The band is has its edges k itoverhanging the grooves k on each side. The tread member or tire memberIf, that is preferably made of rubber, hasachannel is opposite themiddle portion of the band lathus giving it an arched form. The tire hasannular hooked portions 70 k on each side that. engage the freeoverhanging edges of the band.- The band is has overlapping ends 7: k,containing slots la 70 at which portion the ends are secured by one ofthe bolts 70 In putting on the tire or clamp-band If all of the boltsare loosened and the band raised a short distance from the rim,whereupon the hooked portions of the tire are inserted under the edgesof the hand. Then the nuts k on the bolts 70 are tightened up, the boltpassing through the ends of the band 76 being tightened last, so as topermit the band expanding and contracting in its circumference. Upon theband 7c being forced onto the felly the hook portions k 70 will betightly'clamped between the overhanging portions of the band and thegrooves 70. The ledges 70 70 of the felly at the outside of the groovesretain the said hook members in the grooves. When it is desired toremove the tire for any purpose, it is only necessary to loosen up thebolts k when the tire can readily be removed and replaced or a new onesubstituted. 7

In the form shown in Fig. 8 the felly M has cut-away portions m m andflat rings m m secured to the felly M by bolts or screws m m, whichserve to retain the hook portions of the tire in engagement with theoverhang ing edges of the band m Another modification is shown in Fig.9, in which the felly N has rabbet portions a a and the band n overhangsthese portions. Flat rings of on each side retain the hook portion ofthe tire in engagement with the edges of the band W, the faces of thebands engaging the tires having ridges or corrugations that engagecorresponding corrugations in the tire to assist in keeping the tire inplace. The rings a are held in place by bolts or screws 01,, that passthrough apertures in the hook portions and then into the felly, thusaffording additional securing means for the tire.

The rubber tire used in these several forms may have layers of canvasor, other fabric or threads L at its securing portions, as indicated bybroken lines in Figs. 3 and 9.

In Fig. 10 is shown a form similar to that shown in Fig. 9; but the sidering 0 has an annular portion 0 that engages a rib or projection O oneach side'of the tire to assist in retaining the tire in place.-

Another modification is illustrated in Fig. 11, similar to Fig. 7 inwhich the band Ichas the edges 76 7c bent downward and forced into thehook portions of the tire, thus holding these portions very securelyinthe grooves.

Where the felly is made of wood or of material other than metal, I findit advantageous to shrink on the rim in the usual manner an endless bandR, of the same width as the fiat periphery of the felly, as shown inFig. 7, secured by suitable bolts 1'. Then the tire-retaining band issecured on this endless band by bolts passing through both bands and thefelly or rim.

Without limiting myself to the construction and arrangement hereinbeforeset forth,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. The combination of a vehicle-tire composed of resilient material,having an arched form in transverse section and an annular openingtherein, annular projections on its under side, annular grooves arrangedadjacent to the projections, a felly, means to secure the tire to thefelly by the projections, and thickened, annular projections on itsouter walls, substantially as described. I

2. The combination of a vehicle-tire composed of resilient materialreinforced by a fabric, having an arched form in transverse section andan annular opening therein, annular projections on its under side,annular grooves arranged adjacent to and Outside of the projections, afelly having walls formed at an angle to the face thereof, means tosecure the tire to the telly, and thickened, annular projections on theouter walls of the tire arranged above the plane of the securingprojections, substantially as described.

3. The combinationin a tire, of a felly, a fiat annular band secured tothe periphery of the telly, the felly having annular cut-away portionsunder the edges of the band, an annular member of resilient materialhaving projections arranged to engage the edges of the band and also toengage the felly at said cutaway portions, and annular portions securedto the felly and having ridges arranged to engage the tread member andretain its projections in engagement with the edges of the band, thetread member having corrugations arranged to engage said ridges,substantially as described.

4. The combination in a tire, of a felly, a fiat annular band secured tothe periphery of the felly, the felly having annular cut-away portionsunder the edges of the band, an annular member of resilient materialhaving proing through the tread member and into the felly, substantiallyasdescribed.

5. The combination in a tire, of a felly, a flat annular endless bandengaging the periphery of the felly, a second annular clamping-bandprojecting beyond the said band on each side, means for securing thesaid bands in position, the telly having annular cut-away portions underthe projecting edges of the clamp-band, and an annular tread member ofresilient material having projections arranged to engage the edges ofsaid clamp-band, and also to engage the felly at said cut-away portions,substantially as described.

6.' The combination of a vehicle-tire composed of resilient material,and having an annular flange on the rim-engaging side, a projection oneach flange that extends toward each other, a felly, an apertured bandhaving overlapping slotted ends arranged to engage the said projections,and bolts arranged to secure the band to the felly at said apertured andslotted portions and thereby secure the tire to the felly, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM E. ANDREW.

Witnesses:

WM. H. REID, E. T. BRANDENBURG.

